


Fake It 'Til You Make Out

by mikkimouse



Category: Tiger & Bunny
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fandom Trumps Hate, M/M, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Barnaby Brooks Jr., Oblivious Kaburagi T. Kotetsu, Pining, Post-Canon, so much pining and so little talking about it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-03-17 13:44:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18966439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikkimouse/pseuds/mikkimouse
Summary: Paparazzi photos of Barnaby's soulmark show up, leading to wild speculation of who his soulmate could possibly be. Unfortunately, Barnaby doesn't know the answer, either.The solution to keeping Agnes from launching a televised citywide manhunt for his missing soulmate? Fake a relationship until it all blows over.There are just two small problems with that.One: He'll be faking a relationship with Kotetsu.Two: Barnaby has been in love with Kotetsu for years, despite the fact that there's no way they could be soulmates.Yeah. This is going to gogreat.





	Fake It 'Til You Make Out

**Author's Note:**

  * For [taikodragon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/taikodragon/gifts).



> This is for the lovely [taikodragon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hana_ginkawa/pseuds/taikodragon), who won me in the Fandom Trumps Hate auction this year. She asked for either a fake relationship fic or a soulmate AU, so me being me, I went "WHY NOT BOTH???" This is the result, which was supposed to be 10k, ballooned to 22k, and then an editing frenzy got it down to the slightly more reasonable 18k you see here. 
> 
> Thank you to [bleep0bleep](https://bleep0bleep.tumblr.com) for the beta read, and thank you to [paintedrecs](https://twitter.com/paintedrecs) for the title. Y'all are the best. <3 <3
> 
> (Also shout out to Sunrise for The Rising, which I rewatched halfway through writing this fic while I was worried that I had too _much_ pining in it and was reminded that it is literally impossible to write a fic that contains more pining than that movie.)

The phrase "we need to talk" had never, in its entire existence, been used to indicate a positive conversation was forthcoming. Even less so when Agnes Joubert was the one uttering it, and that was the only justification she gave for demanding a meeting with Barnaby. 

Barnaby dragged Kotetsu along with him, partly because they were partners and partly because he'd be damned if he was facing Agnes with only Ben for backup. She would never admit it in a thousand years, but she had a soft spot for Kotetsu and Barnaby wasn't above exploiting that. 

Kotetsu scowled, but followed Barnaby into the meeting without any other complaint. Probably because it meant getting out of paperwork for another hour, at least. 

Agnes strode into the office with a manila folder, which she slapped into Barnaby's chest without even a backwards glance at him. She turned on her heel, leaned against the desk, and fixed Barnaby with a glare. " _You_ have some explaining to do." 

Barnaby frowned and opened the folder, only to be faced with a series of paparazzi photos. More specifically, a series of photos of his bare back, and the blurry words scrawled across it.

_Shit_. 

Kotetsu craned his head over Barnaby's shoulder. "What's the big— _oh_." 

"Yes. 'Oh.'" Agnes crossed her arms. "Those photos showed up online last night."

His stomach sank, and Barnaby flipped the folder shut and handed it over to Ben, who took it and, to his credit, didn't ask any questions. "I don't suppose you'd believe me if I said it was a tattoo." 

Agnes rolled her eyes. "Nobody would believe you if you said it was a tattoo. It's too blurry to make out, but everyone can tell it's a soulmark." 

Barnaby rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Millions of people have soulmarks. I don't see what the big deal is." 

"Millions of people are not Barnaby Brooks Jr.," Agnes pointed out. "Everybody is losing their minds trying to figure out what the mark says and who it belongs to." Her eyes took on a familiar gleam, one that meant she was thinking of Hero TV ratings. "I want to capitalize on that excitement and set up an exclusive interview for you to reveal the answer." 

"Are you crazy?" Kotetsu rounded on Agnes and he didn't _quite_ shout, but it was a near thing. "Soulmates are a private thing. It's not anybody else's business but Bunny's. That's not interview material." 

The impassioned defense made Barnaby's lips tug into a smile, and he quickly squashed it. Given how much of his personal life had already been fodder for Hero TV, it was sometimes difficult for him to set boundaries between work and private life. Kotetsu, thankfully, had no issues with setting boundaries and _very_ clear ideas on what they should be. "Kotetsu's right. I would rather not." 

"People are already talking, and it's pretty clear you're not in a relationship," Agnes said. "You need to tell them something before things start getting out of hand." 

Kotetsu scoffed and rolled his eyes, which showed what _he_ thought about that idea. 

Barnaby, for his part, just shrugged. "It's nothing interesting. The only thing I can tell them is that I have no idea who it is." 

Kotetsu whipped around to him. "Huh?!"

Agnes gaped. "You don't?!" 

"You have _no_ idea?" Ben echoed. 

His back itched where the soulmark was, and Barnaby fought the urge to reach back and rub it. "I don't. It showed up at some point when I first became a hero. I didn't see exactly when. Plus, the mark itself isn't very specific. 'Who are you?' doesn't narrow it down when I met at least three dozen people during that time, if not more." 

Agnes held up her hand. "Wait a minute. You're telling me you've had that mark for _four years_ and you have _no_ idea who your soulmate could be? And you've never even tried to find out?" 

"I had more pressing concerns at the time," Barnaby said flatly. "And since then, it hasn't mattered much." 

It hadn't mattered much because the only person he wanted in his life was Kotetsu, who _couldn't_ be his soulmate, and since his so-called soulmate had never tried to find him, Barnaby saw no reason to go looking himself. 

The gleam was back. "This is perfect," Agnes said. "We can announce _that_ in the interview. People will be lining up around the block to help you track them down. It'll be ratings gold." 

The idea turned his stomach, and Barnaby sank into the nearest chair. He didn't _want_ the general public looking for his soulmate. That was a recipe for disaster. 

"You can't be serious!" Kotetsu _did_ shout, then. "You can't just let a bunch of random people look for Bunny's soulmate."

Barnaby was stupidly glad he'd brought Kotetsu along.

"Why not? People would love it!" Agnes tapped her chin. "I wonder how long we can stretch it out? It'd be best if we could make it to the end of the season. Really get people invested, tie it into the award ceremony—"

Ben set the folder on the desk and turned to Agnes. "If we do that, it'll turn Apollon Media into a madhouse. Forget helping. People will be coming out of the woodwork _pretending_ to be Barnaby's soulmate. We'll never get any work done and we'll be lucky if nobody actually gets hurt _._ "

"They'll be saying that if you don't tell them anything," Agnes shot back. "We need to strike while the iron is hot and strike _before_ people start making up their own stories." 

Kotetsu opened his mouth.

Agnes whirled on him and jabbed a finger in his direction. "And don't you _dare_ say it's private. People are still going to be clamoring for answers, and they'll use you saying it's private as justification for assuming you _don't_ know." 

"It _is_ private," Kotetsu muttered, but that was the only argument he made. 

They were both right, and it was giving Barnaby a headache. He considered what would happen if people started showing up, claiming to be his soulmate, and shuddered at the thought. His already limited privacy would dwindle to nothing, and it would make it impossible for him and Kotetsu to do their jobs. Hell, it was a miracle it hadn't already started happening. 

Ben tapped the folder on the desk, like he was thinking. "Then we fake it."

Agnes stared at him as though he'd grown an extra head. "Fake a _soulmate?_ " 

"Fake a relationship."

Surely Barnaby had heard wrong. Surely _Ben_ , of all people, hadn't suggested... "I'm sorry, I think I misheard you. Did you just seriously suggest that I fake a relationship?"

Ben shrugged. "Why not? Lots of people end up in relationships with someone other than their soulmate. If we tell people that you're in a happy relationship and gloss over that you don't know who your soulmate is, they'll stop speculating about it. It'll keep the office from being overrun, you'll get to keep your privacy, and once everybody's attention has moved onto the next thing, you can quietly break it off. Plus, it'll give some publicity to the idea of being in a relationship with someone who isn't your soulmate, and that's always good." 

Barnaby stared. He honestly had not expected Ben to be that devious. 

Agnes crossed her arms and frowned like she was considering the proposition. "Hmm. It could work. But we can't just say he's in a relationship. We'd actually need to show a relationship. And no offense, Barnaby, but there isn't anybody you spend enough time around to make that plausible." 

Barnaby wanted to argue, but there wasn't any point to it. When he wasn't on the clock, he spent the most time around Kotetsu, less time around the other heroes, and the rest of his time at an orphanage run by nuns. That left him an extremely limited list of options, unless they wanted to bring an outsider into it. And _that_ thought was almost as nauseating as the idea of dealing with dozens of fake soulmates. 

"Hey, that's not fair," Kotetsu said. "You make Bunny sound like some kind of hermit. He's gotten a lot better in the past few years. We spend a lot of time together." 

Agnes arched an eyebrow. "Are _you_ volunteering?" 

Kotetsu took a step back. "Wait, what?" 

Barnaby's heart stopped. "What?" he echoed. 

Ben scratched his chin. "You know, it's not a bad idea. Everybody knows you've known each other for years, and like you said, you _do_ spend a lot of time together, even when you aren't working. It'd be easy for people to believe." 

"Hm, going from work partners to life partners?" Agnes nodded. "I like that angle. We can do a lot with that." 

Barnaby felt faintly ill, and he clenched his fists to keep them from shaking.

Kotetsu glanced down to Barnaby, obviously panicked. "That's not what I meant!" 

"Then who would _you_ suggest?" Agnes asked sweetly. 

"Uh... well, um..." Kotetsu stammered, but no other suggestions were forthcoming.

Barnaby sighed. "Are you sure we can't let it blow over?" 

"We can always go back to the plan where you let people help you look for your soulmate," Agnes said. She looked disturbingly excited by the idea. 

So no, no waiting. Barnaby rubbed the bridge of his nose and stood up. "If I have to fake a relationship with someone, I would prefer it to be with Kotetsu. It's the most believable and least disruptive option of the ones you've discussed." 

"Bunny—" Kotetsu began. 

" _But_ ," Barnaby turned to Kotetsu, "if you'd prefer not to, then we won't say anything. It _isn't_ anyone's business. And I'll deal with... whatever the fallout is." 

Agnes groaned. "Really? That's it?" 

"It's my decision," Barnaby reminded her. "There's a lot I'm comfortable sharing about my life, but not this." 

His piece said, Barnaby started to leave the office. 

Of course, Kotetsu caught his arm. "Bunny, are you sure?" 

Barnaby was only sure of two things: pretending to be in a relationship with Kotetsu was the least awful option of a bad bunch, and pretending to be in a relationship with a man he'd been in love with for almost four years was close to the worst decision he'd ever made in his life. 

But the tone of Kotetsu's voice and the serious look in his eyes meant _are you doing what's best for you,_ because of course he would think about that and of course he would be the only person to ask. Really, was it any wonder Barnaby had been head over heels for him for years?

"I'm sure," Barnaby said. 

Kotetsu dropped his hand, but he didn't look away. "Then I'll do it." 

Barnaby's heart did a traitorous little flip. "Are _you_ sure?" 

Kotetsu rubbed the back of his neck and gave Barnaby a small, soft smile. "I'm your partner, Bunny-chan. I'm not letting you go through this alone." 

Barnaby couldn't help but smile in return. 

Agnes threw up her hands. "Well, thank God _that's_ settled. We'll set up an interview for tomorrow. I'll contact you with details." She strode out of the room and then stopped at the door. "Oh, and be sure to figure out how long you've been dating. And a _better_ reason that you haven't looked for your soulmate." 

With that, she was out the door, the sound of her heels echoing down the corridor as she walked away. 

Behind them, Ben muttered something Barnaby couldn't quite hear. 

He turned. "I'm sorry?" 

"I said you two might as well go ahead and take off early," Ben said. "Take some time to figure everything out before the interview." 

"But there's paperwork!" Kotetsu argued. 

Barnaby raised an eyebrow. " _Now_ you care about paperwork?" 

Kotetsu's gaze darted to the corner of the room. "It needs to get done at some point." 

Ben groaned. "Just go. You don't have a lot of time to get your stories straight." 

"Thank you, Ben," Barnaby said. "And I'm sorry about this mess." 

Ben waved it off. "I've been dealing with Kotetsu for almost fifteen years. I know how to handle mess." 

" _Hey!_ " Kotetsu protested. "This one isn't my fault!" 

Barnaby walked out of the room and stood in the hallway outside the door; sure enough, Kotetsu came running out a second later. "Wait, Bunny, I—oh, hey, there you are!" 

" _Are_ you sure about this?" Barnaby asked again. "This isn't your problem." 

"I already told you, we're partners," Kotetsu said, as if that settled it. "So we'll... fake a relationship, and everybody'll stop talking about your mark, and then things will go back to normal and you can find someone you really want to date." 

_I already_ have _,_ Barnaby wanted to shout, but he pressed his lips together instead. 

He'd considered, early on, the possibility that Kotetsu could've been his soulmate—they _had_ met at the right time—but then he'd seen the scarred soulmark on Kotetsu's side when he was sitting shirtless in Barnaby's apartment and drinking his way through every type of alcohol Barnaby owned. 

Kotetsu had already met his soulmate, and it wasn't Barnaby. 

It had taken him time to deal with that knowledge, but even knowing they weren't soulmates didn't make it possible for Barnaby to _stop_ falling in love with him. He'd finally given up trying. 

Now, their friendship had reached a comfortable equilibrium, and Barnaby was fine with that. He did not want to do anything to upset that equilibrium. He _needed_ Kotetsu in his life, in whatever form that took. The idea of jeopardizing their relationship was terrifying.

"So..." Kotetsu said. "We're both okay with this?" 

_Not even remotely._ "It seems like it," Barnaby said. "We can pick up dinner and head back to my place. I'm driving." 

Kotetsu groaned. "Come on, can't I drive for once?"

" _No._ "

***

Barnaby drove them to Kotetsu's favorite burger restaurant and picked up the check by way of apologizing for dragging him into this. Kotetsu raised an eyebrow and started to argue until Barnaby pointed out that he was protesting _free food_ , which ended the conversation. The only other comment Kotetsu made was that _he_ would pay for the next one, then, which Barnaby readily accepted. 

At his apartment, Barnaby grabbed drinks while Kotetsu set out the food and they sat on the floor, because he had never bothered getting more than the one chair. It wasn't like he needed more; the others didn't come over very often and Kotetsu never minded sitting on the floor. 

They ate in silence for several minutes before Kotetsu said, "So when do you think we'd have started dating?" 

Barnaby _knew_ what he meant, but it still gave him a jolt to hear it asked so casually like that. He took a steadying breath and considered the past year. "Just after we came back to the First League? It's been long enough that people will know we're somewhat serious, and it's an easy date to remember." 

Kotetsu munched on a fry and nodded. "Sounds good."

"How should we say it happened?" Barnaby asked. 

Kotetsu looked up from his food. "Eh?" 

"You know they'll ask. Who asked who out, what finally tipped us from being partners to being something more," Barnaby said as quickly as he could, trying to keep any traitorous emotion out of his voice. The last thing he needed right now was Kotetsu cluing in to how he really felt. "We should get our story straight on that as well." 

Kotetsu groaned and flopped back on the floor. "It's none of their _business_." 

"It's part of our _job_."

"Our job is to protect people. We can do that without having to tell everybody how we started dating."

Barnaby rolled his eyes. "Part of our job is letting our fans see a little _more_ of us, old man. It's a way of thanking them for their support. And it's not as though that matters, anyway, since it's supposed to be a fake relationship." 

Kotetsu waved his hand and pulled his hat over his eyes. "Fine, Bunny-chan, you can tell them you asked me out. With a big bouquet of flowers." He lifted his hat and raised his head just enough that Barnaby could see his grin. "And chocolates. And champagne." 

He should've figured Kotetsu wouldn't take this seriously. Barnaby glared at him. "Anything else? A diamond necklace, maybe?" 

"Nah, that's your birthday present, remember?" 

Barnaby had an overwhelming urge to throttle him. But after all, it _was_ fake, so what did it matter if they said he'd asked Kotetsu out in the most cliché romantic way possible? 

He set his food aside and grabbed his laptop from the table so he could start making notes on this ridiculous endeavor. And then _send_ those notes to Kotetsu so he wouldn't forget what it was they were doing. "So shortly after we returned to the First League, I asked you out with a bouquet of flowers, chocolates, and some champagne. Any particular kind of flowers?" 

Kotetsu sat back up. "Huh?" 

Barnaby bit back a sigh. "What kind of flowers would you like? If we're making this up, we might as well use whatever kind of flowers you like." 

"Oh, uh, I don't know..." Kotetsu scrubbed the back of his neck. "I don't really have a favorite flower, I guess? I mean. I used to get Tomoe yellow and purple roses for her birthday, but that's because those were her favorite colors." 

Barnaby nodded and made a note _not_ to get those. "Maybe red roses, then. If we're going to be cliché."

Kotetsu grinned at him. "Aw, Bunny, how would _you_ want to be asked out?" 

"What? Why?" 

"Complaining that my ideas are cliché. How would you do it?" 

The back of Barnaby's neck heated. "I don't see why it matters. We've already decided that I asked you out and you said how you wanted it done. We can move on." 

Kotetsu shrugged. "Maybe I'll like your idea better." 

"I don't know," Barnaby said. "I've never thought about it." 

Kotetsu gave a start at that. "What? Never?"

"I spent most of my life preoccupied with other things," Barnaby said. At least with Kotetsu, he didn't need to spell out the whole of it. "It never crossed my mind to think about how I'd like someone to ask me on a date." He glanced at Kotetsu, who was sitting back on his hands now. "Do you _really_ want flowers and chocolate?"

"Sure." Kotetsu went back to eating his fries. "It's romantic." 

"It's cliché." 

Kotetsu shrugged. "It's still romantic, Bunny." 

It wasn't worth arguing about, Barnaby decided, and moved on to the next thing. "First date?" 

Kotetsu groaned. "Will they really ask about that?"

Barnaby wasn't sure, but it was a question he'd found in other interviews, so he'd added it to the list. "Most likely. And even if they don't, it's best to be prepared for all contingencies just in case. It'll be easier for people to believe we're dating if we don't stammer over the answers to simple questions." 

Kotetsu tapped a fry to his chin thoughtfully. "Ah, dinner at Fortress Tower, then." 

Barnaby gave him a flat look. " _Really._ " 

"Why not?" Kotetsu gave him a cheeky grin and chomped on his fry. "It _was_ our first date, which will make it easy to remember." 

"That wasn't a date," Barnaby protested. "That was part of a documentary—" 

"Grand opening of the restaurant, table for two, enjoying the view of the city—" 

"—where a camera and three other people were watching _literally_ every move we made." 

"—telling you all about the buildings in the city—"

"You didn't know anything about the buildings!" Barnaby snapped. "Besides, we couldn't stand each other. That doesn't count as a date."

It wasn't entirely true. Yes, Kotetsu had driven him up the wall, but even back then Barnaby couldn't help being drawn to him. He wasn't sure the reverse could be said, however. Not that he could blame Kotetsu; Barnaby hadn't been very easy to get along with when they'd first met. 

Kotetsu laughed. "So we did it again to make up for our first date getting interrupted by a bomb." 

Barnaby sighed and made the note. Kotetsu was right about one thing: it would be easy to remember. "Given our track record, I feel a date getting interrupted by a bomb would be par for the course." 

"Ugh, don't say that." He flopped back on the floor again. "Now it'll happen for real."

"It happened for real _last_ time," Barnaby said. "That wasn't a fake bomb." 

"Oh! Er, yeah. You're right." Kotetsu half-lifted his head. "Is there anything else we should figure out?" 

Barnaby skimmed down the list. They had the most important questions for a fake relationship, and anything else they might be asked, they already knew. Being partners for the better part of the past four years meant they had picked up on each other's various quirks whether they'd wanted to or not. "That looks like everything. Are you going to remember this?" 

Kotetsu scoffed. "I'll remember! Give me some credit. It's not that hard." 

Barnaby raised his eyebrows and resisted the urge to point out all the times Kotetsu's memory had been less like a steel trap and more like a sieve. He sent a copy of the notes to Kotetsu and set the laptop aside. "At least that's done." 

"Mmm." Kotetsu rolled onto his side and propped himself up on his elbow. "This is going to be kind of weird, don't you think?" 

_Weird_ didn't even begin to cover it. "You don't have to do it." 

"We've been over this, Bunny. We're partners. I'm not going to let you deal with this by yourself." Kotetsu made a face. "Do they really think saying that you're dating me will stop people from claiming to be your soulmate? Is it really going to be that many people?" 

Wordlessly, Barnaby got out his phone and opened his email, and handed it over to Kotetsu. 

Kotetsu took it with a frown. "What the— _holy shit!_ Two hundred unread messages?!" 

"Those are the ones I've gotten since last night, after the pictures were posted online. _Don't_ open any of the ones with attachments." 

"What, why not—" Kotetsu recoiled from the phone. " _Gah!_ "

"I warned you," Barnaby said dryly. 

Kotetsu handed it back with a shudder. "If you've been getting this many since last night, why didn't you know about the pictures?" 

"I hadn't checked the emails. They're from my website, not related to work. I didn't think to look until Agnes mentioned it." Barnaby set his phone aside again. "I don't know if it'll help, but at this point, it can't hurt." 

Kotetsu studied him for a long moment. "I'm sorry, Bunny," he finally said. 

Barnaby shrugged. "I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later. It comes with the job." 

Kotetsu's eyes narrowed. "That doesn't make it right." 

Barnaby could have argued. With all the parts of his life that had already aired as fodder for Hero TV, what was one more? He'd known what he was getting into when he'd decided to use his real name on the show, rather than coming up with a hero name. 

But he didn't want to argue. Besides, Kotetsu was right. This wasn't anyone else's business and it grated on him that he had to share it. 

He stood up with a sigh. "It's getting late. I'll drive you back." 

Kotetsu grabbed their trash off the floor. "Are you going to be okay?" 

"I'll be fine." 

"Bunny," he said, in a tone just short of scolding. 

"As fine as I can be," Barnaby amended. "And if you want to help with that, you'll make sure you remember everything we talked about tonight." 

"Of course I will!" Kotetsu said. "You don't have anything to worry about. Heh, after everything else we've been through, this will be a piece of cake, right?" 

Barnaby looked at his smile and his own heart did something unhealthy in response. No, in this case, Kotetsu was wrong. 

This was going to be one of the hardest things they'd ever done.

***

True to her word, Agnes had an interview scheduled the next morning, and Barnaby was already regretting everything about it. Normally he didn't mind them, but in this case, surely a press release would've sufficed. 

Kotetsu was staring off into space and fidgeting with the microphone attached to his lapel, much to the chagrin of the audio engineer responsible for the mics. 

"You should stop messing with it," Barnaby said. 

Kotetsu jumped, like he'd forgotten Barnaby was standing there. "Eh?" 

Barnaby sighed. "Stop messing with the microphone, or she'll have to adjust it again." 

Kotetsu glanced down at his jacket. "Oh. Heh." He turned to the engineer. "Sorry." 

She rolled her eyes. "Just leave it, please. You're on in five." 

"Thank you," Barnaby said, and she flashed him a smile before running off to the other side of the set. 

Kotetsu raised his hand to start fiddling with the microphone again. Barnaby shot him a glare, and Kotetsu quickly pulled his hand back and shoved it into his pocket. 

"Are you nervous?" Barnaby asked. 

"What? Nervous?" Kotetsu shook his head. "Why do you think that?" 

"You haven't stopped fidgeting since we got here. You _do_ remember everything we discussed, don't you?" 

Kotetsu flushed a little. "I remember."

Barnaby frowned at him. "You wrote notes on your hand, didn't you."

Kotetsu jerked guiltily. "Hey, I promised I'd remember! Nobody will notice." 

Barnaby rubbed the bridge of his nose. Yes, this was going to go _swimmingly_. 

However, he didn't have any more time to worry about it, because he was being ushered out for the interview. Just him for the first bit, because it was an interview about _his_ soulmate and there was no obvious reason for Kotetsu to be there. 

And by the time this interview was over, they'd have told the entire city that they were dating. 

Barnaby took a deep breath and plastered his public smile onto his face. 

He made it through the initial pleasantries easily enough—the interviewer was a man named Sean, and Barnaby had spoken with him a few times before. Barnaby didn't like him quite as well as Mario, but at least they weren't in front of an audience and it wasn't being aired live. 

"So Barnaby!" Sean smiled. "You had some big news revealed yesterday." 

"I did." Barnaby gave a small, practiced laugh. "The Stern Bild paparazzi are very enterprising." 

Sean matched the laugh and gestured at him. "I'm just surprised no one's ever seen it before, what with all the photo shoots you've done. Did it happen recently?" 

That had been by design. Barnaby inclined his head. "I've worked with many very talented and very discreet makeup artists." 

"Ha! You'd have to." Sean leaned back in his chair. "Naturally, everybody's been wondering what your soulmark says." 

"They'll have to keep wondering," Barnaby said smoothly. 

Sean laughed again at that. "Aw, you sure you don't want to give us a hint?" 

"Positive." Barnaby kept his tone friendly, but made sure it was clear he wasn't wavering on that particular topic. 

"Fair enough," Sean said. "But having a soulmark... that means you've met your soulmate, right?" 

That _was_ what having a soulmark entailed, and everybody knew it. "Apparently so." 

Sean's TV-smooth face creased in a frown. "What do you mean by that?" 

"I mean I have a soulmark, so clearly I've met my soulmate." 

"Oh, so who is it?" Sean leaned forward again. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you haven't been in a relationship, have you?" 

Barnaby rested his hands on the arms of his chair, consciously focused on keeping them still. "I have, actually. Though not with my soulmate."

That got a crack in Sean's professional demeanor. "What?! But... we haven't seen you with anybody." 

_I have a life you don't see_ , Barnaby wanted to say, but that _was_ part of the reason he was in this situation in the first place. 

A warm hand covered his, linking their fingers together, and he looked over to see Kotetsu taking the seat next to him, a soft smile on his face. 

_Oh_. Barnaby hadn't realized that he'd been _nervous_ until he had Kotetsu beside him again. The nerves didn't vanish entirely, but they did lift enough that he felt steadier again. 

Kotetsu squeezed his hand, and Barnaby squeezed back. 

Sean looked between them, blinked. The look of dawning realization on his face was priceless _._ "What?! Wait... you two?" 

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Kotetsu said. It sounded more offended than he actually was; Barnaby had learned to tell the difference. "Is it that surprising we're together?" 

"Well, yes! I mean, no!" Sean stammered. "I mean, we're used to seeing you two together, just not... _together_ together." 

Kotetsu grinned. "I guess it is kind of surprising. Bunny could do a lot better than me." 

Barnaby gave him a sharp, reproachful look. "Hardly."

"Well, this does explain why we haven't seen you with anyone new!" Sean said. "Although... wait, you said you _weren't_ soulmates?" 

Barnaby shook his head. "No. I met Tiger before I knew who my soulmate was." Technically true, although it certainly didn't tell the whole story. "And then..." He looked over to Kotetsu. "There wasn't anyone else I wanted to be with." 

And that _was_ the bare truth of it, when he got down to things. 

Kotetsu blushed, although Barnaby wasn't sure if it was dark enough that the cameras could pick it up. He could see it, though, and that made it all the more gratifying. 

"So what happened?" Sean asked. "What changed between the two of you?" 

"Well, it was a gradual thing," Barnaby said, although falling in love with Kotetsu had been about as gradual as getting hit over the head with a two-by-four. "We've been partners for so long that it was just... easy to slide into something more." 

"Bunny showed up at my apartment with a _huge_ bouquet of flowers and two boxes of chocolate," Kotetsu said with the dopiest grin on his face. "It was very romantic. How could I say no?" 

Barnaby's neck heated. "I would hope you didn't say yes just because of flowers and chocolate." 

"Of course not." Kotetsu squeezed his hand again. "But it sure as hell didn't _hurt_." 

"And it doesn't bother you that you're not soulmates?" Sean asked. 

Barnaby shrugged. "Why would it bother me? Soulmates are great, but if I've found someone who makes me happy, then what does it matter if we're soulmates or not?" 

Sean directed the question again at Kotetsu. "What about you, Tiger?" 

Kotetsu cleared his throat. "Like Bunny said, it doesn't matter." He met Barnaby's eyes. "We're happy, and that's the important part." 

Barnaby's heart did more stupid things, because of course it did. 

The interview went on for a few more questions, which Barnaby answered at least partly by rote. Kotetsu didn't let go of his hand, and in fact, started tracing small circles on it with his thumb. 

It was enough to make Barnaby wish this was real, and they were only _holding hands_. And it wasn't as though they never touched; they did, and often. But this was more intimate, which was a bizarre thing to think when they were in the middle of an interview, hardly a private event. But it was true, and Barnaby had never realized how much he just wanted to hold Kotetsu's hand. 

"So, you don't have any intention of looking for a relationship with your soulmate?" Sean asked. 

_It's not Kotetsu, so it doesn't matter_. Barnaby shook his head. "No, I don't. I can't imagine being with anyone else. My life is only as good as it is because I have Tiger as a part of it." 

Kotetsu's hand tightened on his and his eyes widened behind his mask. The look of shock lasted only a moment before it softened into a smile. "I feel the same way."

It was fake. Barnaby knew it was fake. But damned if his heart didn't react like it was real. 

"Well, I guess congratulations are in order," Sean said. "And thank you both for talking to us!" 

"Thank you for having us," Barnaby said, and that was it. They were done. 

They stood up to leave, and Kotetsu let go of his hand for the first time since he'd sat down. Barnaby had an overwhelming desire to grab it again. He did not. 

They left the soundstage, had their mics removed, and then they were out the door and walking back to the car. Barnaby took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. His hands were shaking. 

"Do you think they bought it?" Kotetsu asked quietly. 

Barnaby put his glasses back on. "I certainly hope so. The handholding was a nice touch." 

"Heh." Kotetsu shoved his hands in his pockets. "I thought it might help. Was that okay?" 

Barnaby nodded stiffly. "Yes, I think it helped. Although it will be a few hours before we know for sure." 

Sean certainly hadn't acted suspicious, but just because he bought the story that they were together didn't mean that the general public would. 

God, _why_ had he agreed to this in the first place? 

Kotetsu held out his hand, and Barnaby stopped walking. "What?" 

Kotetsu wiggled his fingers. "If you're worried about people buying it, it might help if we do couple things outside of interviews." 

"Couple things," Barnaby repeated. 

"Yes? Like holding hands. Or letting me buy you a coffee." 

"You buy me coffee normally." 

"Yes, but this time I'll have them draw a heart on the cup." Kotetsu frowned at him. "Come on, you know, couple things. Right?" 

Barnaby looked away. "I _don't_ know," he admitted. "I've never done this before." 

"What, faked a relationship?" Kotetsu grinned. "Me neither." 

"No. Been _in_ a relationship." His face felt like it was _bright_ red. "Fake or... otherwise." 

Kotetsu gaped at him. "Are you serious?" 

No. He wasn't getting into this now. Barnaby spun away and stalked back toward the car. 

"Hey, hey, Bunny, _wait_." Kotetsu grabbed his hand. "Wait. I'm sorry. I didn't know. Come on, you had a fan club at the academy and everything!" 

Barnaby stopped, but he didn't turn back to look at Kotetsu. "You know how I was when we first met. Did it really look like dating was a priority?" 

Kotetsu linked their fingers together. "Huh, I guess not." 

Barnaby's _heart_ stopped, then. "So no, I don't really know what I'm doing with this. Even without the extenuating circumstances." 

"Hey, that's okay." Kotetsu squeezed his hand. "I was in a relationship for several years, you know. I have a lot of experience." 

Yes, Kotetsu had been in a relationship with his wife. _His_ soulmate, and the reminder left a bitter taste in Barnaby's mouth. "It's a good thing one of us does." 

They were still holding hands, and Kotetsu didn't look like he was going to let go anytime soon. That was fine with Barnaby; he didn't particularly want to let go, either. 

"Don't worry," Kotetsu said. "I'm pretty good in relationships. Nobody will have any idea we're not really dating." 

Yes. This was definitely the worst thing Barnaby had ever agreed to do. "Good."

***

The fake relationship worked better than Barnaby would've thought. Nobody questioned it, and the slew of emails from his website switched from questions about his soulmate (or people claiming to be his soulmate) to congratulations on his relationship. They did get a few phone calls from people appalled that Barnaby would even _consider_ being in a relationship with someone who wasn't his soulmate, and one from a woman who insisted that _she_ was (even though Barnaby was positive he'd never met her in his life), but outside of that, it wasn't too bad. 

Plus, since it was Kotetsu he was supposed to be in a relationship with, Barnaby didn't have to change anything about his daily routine. They already spent plenty of time together. The biggest difference now was that Kotetsu winked at him a lot more and doodled a heart on the coffee cup before he gave it to Barnaby in the mornings. 

So Barnaby was a little surprised when a very frustrated Agnes called him after a few days.

" _Why_ the hell haven't you two gone on any dates?" she demanded as soon as he picked up the phone. 

"Hello to you, too," Barnaby said. "What do you mean?" 

"I mean exactly what I said," Agnes snapped. "You announced you were dating and we haven't seen _anything_ since then. We should've at least seen you out on a date by now." 

Barnaby looked to his left, where Kotetsu was in the middle of folding origami cranes out of his paperwork—he _said_ it was to help Kaede with a school assignment, but Barnaby doubted that. "We spend most of every day together. People have seen us on Hero TV three times in the past week. Isn't that enough?" 

"That's not the same as a date," Agnes said. "Pick a nice restaurant and go out to dinner tomorrow night. I'll send someone to get photos." 

"But—" 

"And it better look good. If it's anything like the _last_ time I filmed you two having dinner together, I'm going to strangle you both and throw your bodies off the roof."

With that, she hung up before Barnaby could get in another word. 

Kotetsu glanced up from his lopsided cranes. "Who was that?" 

"Agnes." Barnaby set his phone aside and went back to his work. "We need to go on a date tomorrow night." 

"Why?" Kotetsu asked suspiciously. 

"I suppose to help sell the relationship?" Barnaby frowned. "I told her we spent most of our time together, but she said that wasn't the same as a date." 

"Not really," Kotetsu said. "So what kind of date do we need to go on?" 

Barnaby opened a new tab to search for a good restaurant. "A nice restaurant." 

"Hey, we could go to Fortress Tower again," Kotetsu said. 

Barnaby narrowed his eyes. "Are you just saying that because you want to see the Legend statue?" 

"No! It counts as a nice restaurant. The food was pretty good." He shrugged. "Plus, that _is_ supposed to be where we had our first date. Is it our anniversary yet?" 

"Considering we've only been 'dating' a few months, no," Barnaby said. 

Kotetsu counted on his fingers. "It could be our five-month anniversary." 

"Do people actually celebrate five-month anniversaries?" 

"Some do!" Kotetsu protested. 

Barnaby sighed. "Do we need a reason to go out for a nice dinner?" 

"Probably not," Kotetsu said. "Did Agnes say anything else?" 

"She said to make it look good." Barnaby shot him a sideways glare. "And she was _very specific_ about what she would do if it didn't." 

Kotetsu cringed. "Ouch." 

"Yes." 

"So what time should I pick you up?" 

" _I_ will pick _you_ up," Barnaby corrected. "And let me see what they have available for reservations. Someone will be taking pictures, so we need a good table."

"Don't worry, Bunny." Kotetsu bent back over his paper cranes. "We'll make it look so good even Agnes will forget that it's fake."

Barnaby considered the interview from last week. He just hoped _he_ didn't forget it was fake as well.

***

The next night, he picked Kotetsu up at six-thirty, feeling unusually nervous the entire time. It wasn't as though this was the first time Barnaby had picked him up for dinner, or even the first time he'd done so while wearing a suit. It wasn't even the first time he'd brought flowers, although admittedly the previous time had been to welcome Kotetsu home from the hospital. 

Bringing flowers for a date, even a fake one, was different. And that difference was probably the source of his nerves. 

Barnaby had spent fifteen minutes longer at the florist's than he'd intended, agonizing over what to get or even _whether_ to get something, before he'd finally decided on four sunflowers. The flowers would help it to feel more like a date, that was all, especially on the off-chance Agnes had someone following his car before they reached the restaurant. He wouldn't put it past her if she thought she would get good footage. 

He pulled up in front of Kotetsu's apartment and took a deep breath. It would be fine, he told himself. It was just dinner. They did this all the time. 

Barnaby took another fortifying breath and got out of the car with the flowers. Normally he'd have called Kotetsu to tell him he was downstairs, but this wasn't a normal dinner. You had to go to the door to pick up dates, didn't you? 

Kotetsu answered the door wearing a suit. 

Barnaby stared. He hadn't actually expected Kotetsu to dress up. Or at least, dress up any more than he normally did. 

"What?" Kotetsu glanced down at himself. "Do I have something on my shirt?" 

"You're wearing a suit," Barnaby said very intelligently. 

"Well, yeah." Kotetsu tugged on the jacket. "You said it was a nice dinner." 

"Yes, but you listened." 

"Hey, I listen! I listen to you all the—" 

Barnaby held out the flowers before they could fall too much into bickering. "Here. For you."

Kotetsu stammered to a stop and his eyes dropped to the vase. "You brought flowers?" 

Barnaby's cheeks warmed. "You're supposed to bring flowers on a date. I thought it would help set the right mood." 

Kotetsu took the flowers with a soft, wondering smile. "They're pretty. Thanks, Bunny-chan." 

_They reminded me of you_ , Barnaby wanted to say, but he bit back the words. "Are you ready to go, old man?" 

Kotetsu set the vase aside and grabbed his mask. "Ready!" 

The drive to the restaurant was normal, at least, even if everything else about the night was just a little to the right of it. Kotetsu teased Barnaby about the opera playing in the car until Barnaby switched it over to the music from _The Barber of Seville_ , which was so far the only opera he'd managed to get Kotetsu to watch with him. And though he wouldn't admit it, Kotetsu _did_ like the music, as evidenced by the way he started tapping his fingers against his knee. 

They reached the restaurant and Barnaby gave the keys to the valet, and then he was standing at the doors to Fortress Tower with Kotetsu and the reminder that, for all intents and purposes, this was a date. 

It suddenly felt difficult to breathe. 

Kotetsu took two steps toward the doors and turned back, a quizzical look on his face. He held out his hand. "Come on, I'm hungry." 

Barnaby considered ignoring it for a full second before he remembered Agnes's words. _And it better look good_.

Besides, he was lying to himself if he said he didn't want to hold Kotetsu's hand. 

He took it, slotting their fingers together, and strode into the lobby with Kotetsu by his side. Barnaby half-expected a stop at the massive statue of Legend that dominated the foyer, but the only consideration Kotetsu gave it was a quick glance and a small smile. 

Barnaby raised his eyebrow. "You don't want to stop?" 

"Eh, I can look at it later." Kotetsu shrugged. "It's our date night, remember?" 

Date night. The words made his heart skip a beat, and Barnaby fought to keep it from showing on his face. 

They got to the restaurant a few minutes early—a minor miracle—and the host seated them immediately, a smug, knowing smile on his face as he did. 

Barnaby wasn't sure if it was because he knew who they were, knew they were there on a date, or knew they were there on a _fake_ date, and decided he really didn't want to know which one it was. 

Kotetsu was already looking out the window. "Heh, I always forget how much of the city you can see from up here."

Barnaby followed his gaze out over the sprawling city, a riot of bright lights under the rapidly darkening sky. A handful of blimps floated through the air between the skyscrapers, advertisements blinking on and off. It was something he saw every day, albeit a different angle than the view from his apartment, but it was still a spectacular view. 

He picked up the menu to browse between glancing around the restaurant to see if he could spot the photographer Agnes had assured them would be there. He supposed it didn't matter—the pictures would be better if they looked completely candid—but it would be nice to have an idea of which way to angle himself. 

A waitress showed up at their table with a bottle of rosé. Very _nice_ rosé, from the label. "Here you are." 

Barnaby frowned; they hadn't ordered anything yet. "Oh, we didn't—" 

"Yes, we did," Kotetsu cut in. He glanced at Barnaby. "Er, I did." 

Barnaby stared at him as the waitress filled their glasses, and as soon as she left, said, " _You_ did?"

"Eh, you know, I had that whole bottle for us awhile back, and we never got to have it because you invited all our friends over." Kotetsu picked up his glass. "I figured now was a good time to fix that." 

"I invited all our friends over because you never got to see them," Barnaby reminded him, because it was easier to focus on that than to think about the fact that Kotetsu had secretly ordered them an extremely expensive bottle of Barnaby's favorite wine. "I didn't know you would get so upset about it." 

Kotetsu grinned. "Maybe it was because I was looking forward to it being the two of us." 

Barnaby turned to his own wine and took a drink. He _knew_ what Kotetsu meant, but the way he said it... "It's expensive." 

"It's a nice dinner date for our five-month anniversary. We can splurge a little." 

Barnaby rolled his eyes. "We are not celebrating a monthly anniversary." 

"Aw, Bunny-chan, why not?" Kotetsu propped his chin on his hand. "Not much of a romantic?" 

"It's not that. It's just ridiculous to celebrate being together for a handful of months."

"Hey, it's about being happy that you've been together that long." Kotetsu sat back in his seat. "You've got to celebrate those moments. It keeps the spark alive."

Barnaby wondered if Kotetsu was speaking more from personal experience than he was letting on. "Did you celebrate every month you were together?" 

"Early on, yeah. Later... not as much." The smile on his face slipped a little. "Kind of wish I had." 

Barnaby cursed inwardly. He hadn't meant to remind Kotetsu of his wife; it was one of the things Kotetsu never brought up and Barnaby never asked about. 

"Heh." Kotetsu scratched the back of his neck. "For our two-month anniversary, I borrowed my brother's van and took Tomoe to the make-out spot outside of town."

He smiled again, and Barnaby could see it meant _it's okay to ask_. Barnaby raised his eyebrows. " _That's_ romantic?" 

Kotetsu jabbed a finger at him. "When you're seventeen and have no place to go for privacy, it's _very_ romantic." 

"I find that hard to believe." Barnaby poured more wine for both of them. "I also find it hard to believe your brother let you borrow his van for that." 

Kotetsu gave him a slightly guilty look and suddenly appeared very interested in scene outside the window. "Er, well, you know..." 

"Did you ask forgiveness rather than permission?" Barnaby asked dryly. 

"It's not like he was _using_ it then," Kotetsu grumbled defensively. "He'd finished all his deliveries for the day." 

"Wait." Barnaby held up his hand. "Was this his van from the _liquor store?_ "

"Uh... well..." 

Barnaby stared at him. "You stole your brother's liquor delivery van to take your wife to the make-out spot outside of your town for your two-month anniversary."

"She was my girlfriend then, and I didn't _steal_ the van," Kotetsu protested. "We brought it back! And in one piece! I even cleaned it and filled up the gas tank." 

Barnaby was not going to laugh. He _wasn't_. But it was an _absurd_ mental image, and he was having a hard time keeping a straight face. 

"I was _seventeen_ ," Kotetsu repeated, like that somehow explained everything. 

Barnaby pressed his lips together to keep from smiling. "And that was the height of romance?" 

Kotetsu shrugged. "I never said _that._ Besides, everybody starts somewhere." He grinned at Barnaby. "Like you bringing me flowers. That's a good start." 

Barnaby's cheeks heated, and he immediately went back to looking over the menu. "I told you, that was just to set the mood." 

"It's still romantic," Kotetsu said. "We could also split dessert and you could let me feed you." 

Barnaby dropped the menu down to narrow his eyes at Kotetsu. "You have to be joking." 

"Or you could feed me! That's _also_ romantic." 

Barnaby went back to the menu. "How is that romantic?" 

"Uh, sharing food with each other?" Kotetsu scratched the back of his head. "I never really got that one." 

Barnaby sighed. "I think as long as we eat dinner together without fighting, Agnes will be happy." 

"Ehhhh, probably not." Kotetsu sat forward and rested his hand partway across the table, palm up. "Come on, give me your hand." 

Barnaby gave him a sideways look, but he reached out and took Kotetsu's hand. He had no idea what to expect with it. 

But Kotetsu didn't do anything aside from browse his menu and idly rub his thumb along the side of Barnaby's hand. That was all he intended to do, apparently.

Barnaby relaxed incrementally once he realized that, and stretched out his fingers to idly brush them along Kotetsu's wrist. He watched Kotetsu to gauge his reaction, but as far as he could tell, there wasn't one. But Kotetsu was still rubbing his hand, so it was probably fine that Barnaby was, essentially, doing the same. 

And, he could admit to himself, it was very nice. 

Barnaby bent his head back to the menu to hide his smile.

***

The dinner progressed much better than their previous one at Fortress Tower had—although absent another bomb, Barnaby didn't see how it could go _worse_. Kotetsu didn't let go of his hand until their appetizer came, and Barnaby was surprised at how bereft he felt without it. He'd come to like holding Kotetsu's hand. It made him feel warm inside and almost impossibly light, like he might float away if it weren't for Kotetsu's hold on him. Which was an utterly absurd sensation. 

Probably why it was considered romantic, then. People doing absurd things, big or little, to produce an equally absurd sensation in the recipient. 

Which probably explained why Kotetsu was so good at it. Good at smiling in such a way or giving a look that made Barnaby's heart skip. He did it anyway, but it was a thousand times worse now because Kotetsu seemed to be actively _trying_ to do it. 

He also prodded Barnaby into ordering the chocolate cake for dessert, which Barnaby was positive was only because _he_ wanted chocolate cake. (They split it, anyway.) 

Considering Barnaby had never been on an actual date, he had to say this one was setting a pretty high bar in terms of expectations. 

When they got up to leave, Kotetsu reached for his hand, and Barnaby took it and threaded their fingers together without a second thought. He could do this, now, and he would _enjoy_ getting to do it for however long it lasted. 

Because it wasn't real. Because no matter his own feelings, this was just for the cameras, just to keep people from bothering him about his soulmate.

"Hey, Bunny, why the long face?" Kotetsu asked when they were nearly back to his apartment. "Was the date that bad?" 

"No," Barnaby said, because _that_ had not been the problem. "It was fine." 

" _Fine?_ " Kotetsu repeated, slightly appalled. "That's it?!" 

"I don't have much to compare it to," Barnaby said stiffly. "But it was... good. Agnes won't be able to complain." 

Kotetsu snorted. "She had better not. We did a lot of romantic stuff." 

Barnaby would have to take his word for it. 

He pulled up in front of Kotetsu's apartment to drop him off. "Thank you for going along with this." 

"I told you a dozen times, we're partners." Kotetsu unbuckled his belt. "I'm not letting you deal with this alone. What kind of man do you take me for, anyway?" 

Barnaby pressed his lips together so he wouldn't do something stupid, like confess his love or try to kiss Kotetsu. "Still. Thank you." 

Kotetsu got out of the car, and then put one hand on the door and leaned back inside. "Hey, Bunny." 

Barnaby turned to him. 

"You need to pay attention to this stuff. So whenever you _do_ find someone you want to date, you know how they should treat you." Kotetsu met his gaze, eyes serious behind his mask. "You deserve the best, you know."

Barnaby didn't know what to say to that. Didn't know how to say he'd already found someone he wanted to date, didn't know how to put words to the feeling in his chest that was _too much_ , didn't know how to say this night had been better than he could've imagined. And he'd spent a significant amount of his private time imagining how a date between them might go. 

He could've lived the rest of his life without knowing the answer. 

Kotetsu patted the top of his car and gave him a wry grin. "See you tomorrow, Bunny-chan." 

"See you at the office, old man," Barnaby said, and watched Kotetsu walk back into his building before he beat his head against the steering wheel. 

He would give _anything_ not to go through another night like this again. Not if it was going to be fake. 

His heart couldn't take it.

***

Agnes was apparently pleased with the results of the dinner date—Barnaby didn't look for any of the photos, but she had the ratings gleam in her eye the next time she dropped by the office. 

He was surprised she lasted three whole days before calling them to demanding another date. 

Barnaby looked at their schedule. "I guess we could do another dinner—" 

"No," Agnes cut in. "You already did dinner. Something else. Something romantic that will give us great photos." 

Kotetsu leaned over the divider between their desks. "Who're you talking to?" 

"Agnes." Barnaby put the phone on speaker, since this was as much Kotetsu's business as his. "She wants us to go out on another date, but it can't be dinner." 

"You need to go out on a _few_ ," Agnes corrected him. "You have no idea how much this is helping our ratings. I should've talked you two into doing this ages ago. People are _living_ for it." 

The idea of having to fake a relationship with Kotetsu for _months_ gave Barnaby a minor heart attack. "The only reason we're doing this at all is to keep people from asking about my soulmark," he reminded her. "We're not going to keep it up forever." 

"Oh, but we're going to use it while you do," Agnes said breezily. "So, another date this weekend?" 

Kotetsu scratched the back of his head. "I guess we could go to a movie?" 

"No!" Agnes snapped. "We'll never get decent pictures of you two in the theater. Go do something outside. The weather's supposed to be gorgeous." Something rustled on her end of the phone. "I'll send you a list of events happening around the city. Pick a few and let me know which ones you're going to." 

"Fine," Barnaby said. "We'll do something Saturday. Sunday I'm busy." 

"Just let me know where you'll be." Agnes hung up the phone.

Kotetsu poked him. "What're you doing Sunday?" 

Barnaby brushed his hand away. "Visiting the kids, like I usually do." 

"Oh! Uh, do you want help?" Kotetsu asked. 

"With the kids?" Barnaby blinked. "Do you want to come?" 

"Sure! I mean, if you don't mind?" 

He never minded spending time with Kotetsu. "I don't mind. I think the kids would like to see you."

Kotetsu's face lit, like he hadn't been expecting that response. "Heh, you think?" 

"Sure," Barnaby said. "And it'll be nice to do something that isn't a fake date." 

It would be nice to do _anything_ with Kotetsu that was normal, that would remind him how things were supposed to be between them, especially after enduring another date. 

"Hey, it won't be _that_ bad." Kotetsu leaned on the desk and crossed his arms. "The dinner was good, right?" 

The dinner _had_ been good, and that was part of the problem. "I told you the dinner was good already. Stop fishing for compliments." 

Kotetsu sputtered. "I'm not fishing for compliments! Why would you think that? Is spending time with me that terrible?" 

Barnaby pushed away from the desk and stood. "If spending time with you was that terrible, we wouldn't still be working together." 

"So what do you want to do on Saturday, then?" Kotetsu asked. 

Barnaby shrugged. "I don't know. You pick." 

"What?! Me?" 

"Why not? I assume you have more experience with dates than I do." Barnaby waved at his computer. "Check the list Agnes sent and let her know what you decide." 

"That's probably a decision we should make together, Bunny." 

"I'm busy," Barnaby said shortly. "I'll be back later. Just let me know what we're doing Saturday." 

"Hey, Bunny!" Kotetsu called after him, but Barnaby was already on his way out of the office and making tracks for the roof. 

He didn't actually _have_ anything he needed to do, other than get the hell out of the office and have a quiet breakdown over the thought of another date with Kotetsu. He half-hoped Kotetsu would pick something that wouldn't interest him at all, or maybe something that wouldn't interest _Agnes_ , and that would make the whole thing more tolerable. He'd be too busy being annoyed to react to Kotetsu being... being the way he'd been at dinner. With the smiles and the winks and the handholding and the casual touches that were more deliberate than they usually were. 

Barnaby had mostly been able to handle those originally precisely _because_ they weren't deliberate, because Kotetsu was a physical person by nature and it wasn't _just_ Barnaby he touched. But now Barnaby was getting a taste of what it was like to date him and it was both better and worse than he'd imagined it would be. 

He reached the roof and walked over to lean on the railing, looking out over the city. It was windier up here than it was closer to the ground, and he was going to have a hell of a time getting his hair untangled by the time he got back inside. 

Barnaby rested his head on his arms and sighed. This had been a stupid idea and the only thing that made it remotely bearable was that it _had_ cut down on the number of people asking him questions about his soulmate and his soulmark. But there was no telling how long they'd have to keep this farce up and from the way Agnes was talking, it was going to go on a lot longer than Barnaby would like. 

This was, indeed, one of the hardest things he'd ever done. He _hated_ being right.

***

"Paddle boats," Barnaby said. 

"Hey, you were the one who wanted me to pick," Kotetsu reminded him. 

"I thought you would be picking from Agnes's list," Barnaby said. "I didn't think you would be picking _paddle boats_." 

Kotetsu had apparently ignored Agnes's list and instead, dragged Barnaby to one of the parks in the city with a small lake in the middle of it. Swimming beaches dotted the banks of the lake, along with food trucks and other small concession stands. The section Kotetsu had directed him to had paddle boats and kayaks for rent, along with an area for bumper boats, go-karts, and miniature golf. Another sign advertised horseback rides. Barnaby hadn't had any idea this was here. 

"How did you find this place, anyway?" he asked. 

"I keep a bunch of tourist guides around for when Kaede comes up to visit," Kotetsu said. "Usually work gets too busy for us to do much, but I like to try and make sure she has fun. This was one of the places I was going to bring her last time, but then there was that jewelry heist thing so we didn't get to make it." 

He sounded disappointed at that, but Barnaby had a feeling the only thing Kaede cared about was seeing her dad, regardless of whether they did anything "fun." "So you're bringing me here instead?" 

"Agnes asked for an outside date, she's getting an outside date." Kotetsu gestured around them to encompass everything in the area. "We've got a ton of stuff to do here. She's got to be able to get a good picture out of _that_."

"Won't the boats take us a little far _away_ for a good picture?" Barnaby pointed out. 

"Don't they have special cameras or something for that?" Kotetsu shrugged. "And if not, they can get a good picture when we play mini golf. Besides, paddle boats are romantic." He held out his hand. "Come on, Bunny-chan." 

"How is a paddle boat romantic, old man?" Barnaby asked, mostly to himself, but he took Kotetsu's hand anyway. 

Kotetsu just grinned at him. "You'll see." 

Barnaby did not want to see. Barnaby was feeling too warm from holding hands; he wasn't going to survive anything more romantic than this. 

Kotetsu led them over to the paddle boats and paid to rent one for half an hour, and then pulled Barnaby over to a bright pink boat with a huge plastic flamingo head curving up off the front of it. 

"You have got to be kidding," Barnaby said. 

Kotetsu swept his hand toward the boat. "After you, honey." 

Barnaby spun on him and glared. "I'm sorry, _what_ did you call me?" 

"It's a pet name!" Kotetsu protested. "It's romantic." 

"It is not. My name is _Barnaby_ and I can count on one hand the number of times you've actually used it." 

"Aw, Bunny—"

His cheeks warmed at the familiar name, because at some point in the past few years _Bunny_ had gone from being mocking to being affectionate and although Barnaby would never admit it aloud, he'd stopped hating it a long time ago. "Don't call me honey," he muttered, and climbed into the boat. 

Kotetsu climbed in to the seat beside him and they started off over the water, angling out away from the dock. It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky, and warm enough that plenty of people were enjoying the swimming beaches, even if summer was technically over. Thankfully, the sunshade on their boat and the breeze over the water kept it from getting too hot, and Barnaby was glad he'd worn his jacket. Fall would be settling in very soon. 

"So why don't you think pet names are romantic?" Kotetsu asked. 

"There's not any reason for you to give me a pet name for this," Barnaby said. "Besides, you already have a nickname for me that you use constantly." 

Kotetsu looked surprised. "Wait, are you telling me _Bunny_ is a pet name?" 

"If 'Bunny' is your pet name for me, then I guess 'old man' is my pet name for you," Barnaby said. 

Kotetsu spun around to him. " _Hey!_ That's not a pet name!" 

"Don't leave me to do all the work with pedaling," Barnaby said mildly. 

Kotetsu put his feet back on the pedals, still grumbling about _old man_. Barnaby pressed his lips together to keep from smiling too much. 

_Honey_ felt too close to what other people thought was romantic, which Barnaby could appreciate, although it didn't make any sense to him. It felt too... impersonal. And besides, no one was going to hear a pet name during this fake relationship. There was no practical reason for them to use one. 

_Nobody saw you bring Kotetsu flowers, either_ , his brain reminded him helpfully, and Barnaby scowled at himself. 

"Hey, Bunny, you okay?" Kotetsu asked. "You look angry." 

Shit. He hadn't meant to draw attention to himself. "I'm fine." 

Kotetsu huffed a laugh. "You really hate pet names that much, huh? I won't use it again." 

That was not entirely why he'd been scowling, but at least that was a silver lining. "So riding around on a pink plastic flamingo is supposed to be romantic?" 

"Heh." Kotetsu tipped his head back. "I think it's more the privacy and the view. You know, just the two of us—" 

"In the middle of the lake in a public park," Barnaby pointed out. 

"In the middle of a lake where the closest boat is _way_ over there." Kotetsu waved off to the right. "Plus, it's pretty out here. You should see it in the spring, when all the flowers are blooming. Over there, the petals are so thick it looks like there's snow on the banks." 

Barnaby frowned. From the way Kotetsu had talked earlier, it had sounded like he hadn't been here before, but now... "Were you out here in the spring?" 

"Uh, yeah." Kotetsu gave him a slightly sheepish grin. "A couple of times before. I found it because of the guidebooks, but I came out here by myself to see what it was like." 

Barnaby narrowed his eyes. Something in the explanation was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. But it wasn't worth pestering Kotetsu about, probably. "You're supposed to keep pedaling," he reminded Kotetsu. 

"I _am_ pedaling! _You_ need to be steering!" 

They were far enough out from the bank, out from any potential cameras, that Barnaby felt less pressured to be concerned about how they were coming across. Falling into a petty argument about who was supposed to be pedaling and who was supposed to be steering was oddly comforting, and gave him some much-needed stability when these fake dates threw a wrench into their usual equilibrium. 

But being on the boat itself... was nice. Not just the weather and the water, but being out here with only Kotetsu in the boat with him, where they could conceivably have a private conversation or sneak a kiss when no one was watching. Barnaby could see why Kotetsu had picked it for a date. A _fake_ date. 

He needed to not think about sneaking a kiss. 

The thirty minutes passed more quickly than Barnaby would have expected, and they had to return the garishly pink boat to the docks. Before Barnaby could climb out of it, Kotetsu turned and snapped a picture of him. 

"What was _that_ for?" Barnaby asked. 

Kotetsu tucked the phone back in his pocket and held out his hand. "You look so cute in pink, Bunny-chan."

Barnaby seriously considered grabbing his hand and yanking him straight into the lake. He _also_ considered ignoring it, but they were back on the shore and that meant Agnes's photographer was somewhere around here angling for a good picture. With a sigh, he took Kotetsu's hand and let himself be pulled back onto the dock. "You have a thousand pictures of me." 

"None where you're in a flamingo paddle boat," Kotetsu said. "It's _very_ cute." 

"I'm not cute." 

"You're cute in a paddle boat," Kotetsu said. "What else do you want to do?" 

Barnaby looked around and shrugged. "I've never done any of it before, so I'm not sure." 

"Wait." Kotetsu stopped and stood in front of him. "You've never done _any_ of this? Bumper boats?" 

"No." 

"Mini golf? Go karts?" Kotetsu's eyes went wide. "Wait, was that your first time on a paddle boat?!"

Barnaby looked away, his cheeks burning. "Stop teasing me." 

"I'm not teasing you! I just didn't realize it." Kotetsu tugged his hand. "Come on. You have to try mini golf at least once." 

"Is it also romantic?" Barnaby asked dryly. 

Kotetsu grinned back at him. "It can be." 

That stupid smile was going to kill him one of these days. 

Kotetsu hauled him over to the miniature golf course and got them clubs and balls—red for Barnaby, green for himself, because they had a color scheme and apparently they were sticking with it—and took him to the first green. It was the simplest one, as far as Barnaby could see: a straight shot to the hole. 

Kotetsu set his ball on the green and took aim. "Now, the point of golf is to get the ball in the hole with as few strokes as possible."

"I know what the point of golf is," Barnaby said. 

"Hey, you said you'd never played. I was covering my bases." Kotetsu tapped the ball, sending it almost all the way to the hole. "Your turn." 

Barnaby set his ball on the green and stood beside it to swing. 

"You're holding the club wrong," Kotetsu said. 

Barnaby rolled his eyes. "I'm holding it the same way you were." 

"No, hold on, let me show you." 

What Barnaby though Kotetsu meant by "let me show you" was that Kotetsu would demonstrate on _his_ club. Instead, Kotetsu came up behind him and put his arms around him, resting his hands over Barnaby's on the club. 

Barnaby's brain shut down.

"Here." Kotetsu's voice was _right_ in his ear, close enough that his breath ruffled Barnaby's hair. "You need to hold it like this." 

He moved Barnaby's hands on the handle of the club until he was satisfied with their position, and Barnaby _let him_ because his mind was still scrambling to deal with being held by Kotetsu. His entire conscious thought process was making the same sound as all 88 piano keys being slammed at the same time. 

"Okay, that's good." Kotetsu put his hands back over Barnaby's, so he was holding the club as well. "Now you just swing it back a little and—" 

The ball didn't roll gently down the green so much as it skipped toward the hole, smacked into the opposite wall, and rolled halfway back to where he'd started. 

Kotetsu stepped back from him with a soft laugh. "Uh, maybe hit it a little softer next time." 

It was lucky Barnaby hadn't snapped the damn _club_ in half with the force of his restraint. His brain was still very slowly turning back on; he walked up to where his ball had stopped and hit it again. This time, it got much closer to the hole. 

"Hey, you're a natural," Kotetsu said. 

"It's not difficult to grasp," Barnaby said quickly. Probably too quickly, his heartbeat was still racing.

"You say that now." Kotetsu nodded across the course. "Wait until we get to the windmill."

***

They made their way through the miniature golf course without any other issue beyond a few people coming up to ask for autographs or pictures. Barnaby usually didn't mind it; today he was downright grateful for the distraction. It kept him from thinking about the way Kotetsu's hands had wrapped around his or his voice in his ear or the line of warmth that had been his chest pressed along Barnaby's back. 

Kotetsu, to his credit, handled the interruptions much better than he normally did, although he did remind Barnaby that they were supposed to be on a date after the fifth person interrupted the golf game. 

"Being nice to fans is our _job_ ," Barnaby reminded him. 

"Not pissing off Agnes is _also_ our job," Kotetsu said. 

Barnaby, unfortunately, couldn't argue with that. 

Once they had finished the round of golf and turned in their clubs (Barnaby won, which Kotetsu teasingly called beginner's luck), Barnaby checked the time. They'd been out for about an hour and a half, surely _that_ was long enough for whatever pictures Agnes had needed. 

Kotetsu's response was to grab his hand. "Ah, come on, we should do one more thing."

"Horseback riding," Barnaby said immediately. 

"Eh?! Really?" 

"I've done two things I haven't done before today. I'd like to do one thing I _have_." 

"Oh." Kotetsu rubbed the back of his neck. "I, uh, haven't." 

Barnaby raised his eyebrows. "You've never been horseback riding?" 

"Don't say it like that! It sounds bad." 

"Then it's your turn to do something you haven't done before," Barnaby said, and steered them toward the stables to get tickets for the next group. 

Unsurprisingly, they weren't given a horse and allowed to ride wherever they wanted; they had to all ride in a group of about ten down a predetermined path through the park, but at least they were all on separate horses. Barnaby did not have to worry about Kotetsu touching him or smiling at him or anything else, because he was on another horse and Kotetsu was _clearly_ more concerned with staying on his horse than he was attempting to make their fake date more real. The horses were barely moving at the speed of _sand_ , and God knew Kotetsu put himself into more danger voluntarily every day, but at least it was giving Barnaby a little bit of a break. 

Plus, the ride itself was relatively peaceful. It gave him some time to clear his head, to remind himself that it _was_ fake, that it did _not_ mean anything, and Agnes got one more week of "milking" it before Barnaby was calling it off. He didn't need to have a public date every week to be in a relationship. 

The ride only lasted about forty-five minutes, and then their group returned to the stables and dismounted one by one. Barnaby stayed on the platform after he dismounted, turning to see if Kotetsu needed any help. 

And Kotetsu was turning his leg the _wrong way_. 

Barnaby darted forward without thinking, arms outstretched, just as Kotetsu realized his mistake and fell out of the saddle. 

Barnaby caught him before he could brain himself on the platform, and immediately realized _his_ mistake. Normally when they did this, they were both wearing solid metal suits, and Barnaby did not typically catch Kotetsu at an angle that put them nearly face-to-face. 

But now they were pressed together, their faces inches apart, which meant their _mouths_ were inches apart, and Barnaby swore he could feel his brain short-circuiting. 

He focused on the most pressing issue so he would stop thinking about Kotetsu's mouth. "Weren't you paying attention when he explained how to dismount?" 

"I did!" Kotetsu said. "I just forgot which way to put my leg." 

" _Behind_ you." Barnaby set him safely on the platform and resisted the urge to pat him down to make sure he hadn't actually injured himself. "It was literally one instruction." 

"Heh." Kotetsu gave him a sheepish grin. "Sorry." 

Barnaby pulled him off the platform so other people could dismount, and Kotetsu hissed as soon as he took a few steps. 

Barnaby spun back to him. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?" 

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Kotetsu straightened and winced. "My butt hurts from sitting on the horse for so long. It'll be okay. I just need to walk a little more." 

Barnaby scanned for the nearest bench. "You should sit so we can make sure you didn't twist anything when you fell." 

"I didn't!" Kotetsu protested. "I didn't even fall that far before you caught me."

"Still, we should make sure. The last thing we need right now is you hurting yourself falling off a _horse_." 

"Bunny." Kotetsu took his hand. "I promise, I'm okay. Really." 

Barnaby was about to argue—Kotetsu had said he was fine _many_ times when he wasn't—but then Kotetsu lifted his hand and kissed his knuckles. 

Any word of argument died in his throat, and Barnaby knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was never, _ever_ going to forget what it felt like to have Kotetsu kiss his hand. 

His first instinct was to yank away, but they were supposed to be in a relationship, everybody around them _thought_ they were in a relationship, and if he did that, everybody would be wondering why. And Barnaby did not particularly want to do anything that would have people wondering about his relationship status again. So he didn't move, and tried to collect his thoughts from where they'd scattered. 

Even so, it took him longer than it should've to find his voice again. "Fine. We'll walk." 

He turned toward the nearest walking path—there were dozens in the park—and pulled Kotetsu along with him. Once Barnaby was reasonably sure they were out of both sight and earshot, he pulled his hand away. 

" _Why_ are you going so over-the-top with it?" he asked, failing to keep the frustration out of his voice. "You don't need to. This is just supposed to be for the cameras." 

"First off, I'm _not_ going over the top," Kotetsu said. "Agnes said it had to look good, so I'm trying to do that. And second, even if this isn't a real relationship, it should be a good one. I told you, you should know someone should treat you if you ever do meet up with your soulmate." 

"And I already told _you_ , I don't know who it is. And I'm not looking." Barnaby shoved his hands in his pockets, like that might erase the feeling of Kotetsu's lips on his knuckles. "Besides, it's not as though they've made any effort to find me." 

"Hey, you never know what's going on with them," Kotetsu said. "Maybe they had other reasons they couldn't find you. Or maybe they didn't realize it was you, either."

Barnaby supposed it was possible—if they hadn't noticed the soulmark for long enough that they couldn't remember what Barnaby said to them—but it was unlikely that had happened to _both_ of them. 

Kotetsu grinned. "Or maybe you got so popular so fast they were intimidated by you." 

Barnaby rolled his eyes. "I don't think anybody who would be my soulmate would be _intimidated_ by me."

Kotetsu poked him. "You can be pretty scary, Bunny." 

Barnaby glared at him, which earned him another smile. 

"See?" Kotetsu said. "That's a scary look." 

Barnaby huffed and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Regardless, it's been four years. Whatever the reason, they've _had_ time. If they had wanted to, you'd think they would've tried." 

It stung, a little bit, that whoever his soulmate was had never bothered to try and find him. But not too much, since he hadn't, either. He could only blame not knowing who his soulmate was for so much. 

"Hey, come on, how would they know you didn't know who it was?" Kotetsu asked. "Maybe they've been waiting on you to make a move, and that's why they haven't said anything." 

"And maybe they don't want to find me because they fell in love with someone else," Barnaby shot back. 

Kotetsu looked shocked, like that hadn't even occurred to him as a possibility. "What?! No, there's no way that's the reason." 

_Why not? It's the reason for me_. "And how could you _possibly_ know what my soulmate is thinking?" 

"I mean, I don't!" Kotetsu said quickly. "I was just guessing. Besides, what if you have another soulmate, huh, and you haven't met them yet?" 

Surely he'd heard wrong. Barnaby stopped in his tracks and turned to him. " _Another_ soulmate? That's impossible." 

"It's not! You've probably got several, Bunny."

Where in the _hell_ had Kotetsu gotten a ridiculous idea like that? "I do not have _more than one_. Why would you think that?" 

"Ah, er." Kotetsu rubbed his chest and his eyes darted to the trees. "It's just... not _impossible_ to have more than one soulmate. So you'll probably find another one soon." 

He was hiding something. Barnaby narrowed his eyes. "Kotetsu, why do you think it's not impossible to have more than one soulmate?" 

"I just, uh, read something about it awhile back." Kotetsu shrugged, but he still wasn't meeting Barnaby's eyes. "It doesn't happen often, but it's not impossible." 

Barnaby had seen Kotetsu's choice of reading material. None of it would have made him guess Kotetsu read random articles about soulmates. "Where did you read that?" 

"I don't remember." Kotetsu shrugged. "It's been years. Come on, Bunny, let's go get some ice cream before we leave."

He hurried ahead—the first time all day he hadn't tried to grab for Barnaby's hand before going somewhere—leaving Barnaby alone on the path in the trees.

***

That blunt change of subject meant Barnaby wasn't going to get anything else useful out of him for the rest of the day, so he didn't bother trying, but the conversation didn't leave him even after he'd dropped Kotetsu off at home. Kotetsu's weird insistence that he had another soulmate was... suspicious. Barnaby had been honestly surprised to find out he had _one_ ; he couldn't fathom having _another._ And he didn't think soulmarks worked like that, anyway. Sure, people who were in triads usually ended up with the marks for both of their partners, but Barnaby was positive that wasn't what Kotetsu was talking about. 

And why in the hell had Kotetsu gone looking for information about soulmates? Barnaby couldn't imagine him researching for the fun of it. Maybe to help Kaede with a school thing, but he wouldn't have hidden that. There _had_ to be another reason behind it. Either he'd been looking it up for someone he knew, or...

Or he'd been looking for himself. 

Barnaby stopped in the middle of his living room, staring out vacantly out the window. 

Did Kotetsu know about multiple soulmates because _he'd_ ended up with another mark?

Barnaby's initial reaction was the same as it had been earlier: that was impossible. But Kotetsu had been so insistent that it _wasn't_...

Barnaby reached back and brushed his fingers over his soulmark. Being on his back where it was, he didn't get a chance to see it often, and it had taken his sleep-deprived brain longer than usual to decipher it the first time he'd seen it. Since then, the words had been seared into his mind. And while he hadn't _lied_ to Agnes about what it said, he had... omitted some information. 

_Huh? Who are you?_  
  
Of all the people Barnaby had met during that stretch of time when the mark had appeared, the only person who might've said _huh_ was Kotetsu.

The old niggling feeling of hope worked its way back into his chest, the same hope he'd squashed years ago when he'd seen the scarred mark on Kotetsu's side. If Kotetsu had a soulmark already, there was no way he could be the one responsible for Barnaby's mark. 

But what if that assumption was wrong? What if it _was_ possible to get a second mark? 

If that were the case...

No. There was no sense in getting his hopes up. Even if it were possible, that didn't mean Kotetsu had a second soulmark. And even if he _did_ , that didn't mean it was Barnaby's. 

But... it was something worth looking into, at the very least. 

Barnaby grabbed a drink and flipped open his computer. There was one major advantage to spending a good chunk of his life scouring the Internet for any scrap of information on Ouroboros and his parents' murders. 

He was very, _very_ good at research.

***

Barnaby woke up with his eyes gritty and his mouth feeling like something had died in it, staring up at his living room ceiling. 

He didn't _remember_ taking his glasses off and lying back in the chair, but he must have, because the glasses were beside his computer, which was still open with the results of last night's research binge.

Barnaby scrubbed his hands over his face and went to get ready for the day. He hadn't slept _well_ —he vaguely remembered thinking he would rest for a minute and that was the last thing he recalled before waking up—but he'd learned more about soulmates and soulmarks in the past several hours than he'd ever learned in his life, beyond "There's a pretty good chance you'll get one." 

He'd found three reported cases of a person getting a second soulmark years after their first, outside of a triad. In all three cases, the person's previous soulmate had passed away. 

That meant Kotetsu was right. It _wasn't_ impossible to have another soulmate. 

But it was very doubtful Barnaby would be the one who had one. 

That knowledge meant the bubble of hope was back, and this time it was a lot harder to squash it. However, he still had no idea if Kotetsu had another soulmark, and no idea how to really find out. 

The most logical course of action was for him to _ask_ , but it was doubtful Kotetsu would tell him, especially given how evasive he'd been yesterday. No, Barnaby would need to come at this problem sideways, until he had enough information to confront him head-on. 

If Kotetsu had another soulmark, there had to have been _someone_ he would've talked to about it. Someone he was close to, someone he would trust to keep it a secret, someone who was good at finding information...

Barnaby ran through the list of people they knew who would qualify. Antonio, possibly. He was Kotetsu's best friend, but somehow Barnaby couldn't imagine this topic coming up during one of their bar nights. His mother or brother, almost certainly, but Barnaby didn't feel comfortable randomly calling Anju or Muramasa to ask. 

He was halfway dressed when it struck him out of the blue. 

_Ben._

Ben and Kotetsu had known each other since Kotetsu first became a hero. Ben was the one Kotetsu had gone to when he started losing his powers. If Kotetsu had talked to anybody about a soulmark, it would have been Ben. __  
  
Barnaby grabbed his phone and checked the time. It was early, but not quite emergencies-only early. He opened his contacts and dialed Ben's number before he could think better of it. 

Ben answered after the second ring. "Hey, Barnaby. What's going on?" 

"I—" He really should have considered _what_ he was going to say before he called. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I have a strange question, and I think you may be the best person to ask." 

"Sure, what's up?" 

_Do you know if Kotetsu has a second soulmark?_ "Do you... know if it's possible for someone to get a second soulmark?"

Ben was quiet for a _suspiciously_ long time. "Why do you ask?" 

"Because Kotetsu seems to think it's possible that I have more than one soulmate," Barnaby said. "But I have no idea where he got that idea."

There was a soft smack and an audible groan on the other end of the line. "Look, I'll tell you what I told him," Ben said. "It's possible, but _very rare_ , to get a second soulmark. It only happens if something has already broken the bond. Like, for example, if your first soulmate passes away. And even then, it's not a guarantee. Most people only get the one soulmark. As long as your mark is still black, you're not going to end up with another soulmate." 

Of course not. But Kotetsu... Barnaby sat in his chair, biting back the question he really wanted to ask. "Do you know of anybody that's happened to?" 

"Someone who's gotten a second soulmark?" Ben sighed. "Just one." 

_One._

"Why are you asking?" Ben sounded like he already knew the answer.

"Just curious," Barnaby lied. 

Ben muttered something that sounded an awful lot like _you two deserve each other_. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that," Barnaby said politely. 

"Nothing." Ben cleared his throat. "Are you going to ask me the question you really want to ask, or are you going to keep beating around the bush?" 

Barnaby opened his mouth to answer, closed it, and considered. And then went for the truth. "I'd ask you if I thought you'd answer me. But I don't think you will." 

Ben snorted. "Always knew you were smart." 

That wasn't exactly confirmation that Kotetsu had a second soulmark, but it was as close as Barnaby was likely to get. "Thank you, Ben. I'm sorry to have bothered you."

"It's fine," Ben said. "Like I said, it's not the first time I've had this conversation. And... good luck, Barnaby." 

"I..." _I don't need luck, what are you talking about_ , Barnaby had a hundred instinctive protests ready, but none of them came out. From the sound of it, Ben had guessed what he was going to do next. "Thank you," he said again instead.

"See you Monday," Ben said, and hung up.

***

Unfortunately, knowing he needed to talk to Kotetsu and finding a way to do it were two completely different things. The only thing Barnaby knew was that he should wait until _after_ they'd visited the kids, because doing it beforehand would be a recipe for awkwardness. Beyond that, he was lost at when and how to bring it up. 

And spending time with the kids sure as hell wasn't going to _help_. Kotetsu was great with them, eagerly jumping in to whatever game they were playing, whether it was an actual sport or some make-believe challenge they'd invented. 

Barnaby was watching them run around the playground—it looked like half the kids were defending the swing set from oncoming attackers—as he unpacked the boxes he and Kotetsu had brought for the kids. 

He didn't hear Sister Margaret come up until she spoke. "So that's your young man." 

Barnaby startled, and then blinked up at her once he'd registered her words. He wasn't sure which part of it was more surprising. "My _young_ man?"

She winked at him. "At my age, everyone's young." She followed his gaze to where the kids and Kotetsu were playing. "I have to admit, I wondered the first few times you brought him out here. If you were together." She slid him a sly look. "You never mentioned anything." 

Barnaby set some more toys aside and brushed nonexistent dust off his pants. "It never came up. Besides, we were keeping it private." 

They hadn't _been_ "dating" the previous times he and Kotetsu had come here, but he couldn't tell the sister that. 

"Mm-hmm," Sister Margaret said, still with that knowing smile. "Still, I was glad to hear it. You always seem happier when he's around."

The back of his neck warmed slowly at the words, and Barnaby went back to unpacking and sorting things. "He's my partner." 

_So of course I'm happier when he's around. Of course I want to spend time with him. We're partners._

It was as much of an explanation as he could give.

Sister Margaret nodded, as if she understood how much was loaded behind the words. "I know it can be difficult to take that step when you're already friends, especially because friendships are so important. But I think it's good that you did." 

Barnaby cringed inwardly; he hadn't taken that step at all. And they were lying about it to everybody. "You don't think I should've looked for my soulmate?" he asked. 

Sister Margaret laughed. "No, why would you think that?" 

Barnaby shrugged. "Other people seem to think I should be waiting for my soulmate." 

_Other people_ mostly meaning "Kotetsu," who seemed to think Barnaby would be better off waiting to meet someone _else_. 

Sister Margaret patted his shoulder. "When I was little, my older sister told me soulmates were like a very nice jacket."

Of all the metaphors, that was the last one Barnaby had expected. He stared at her. "A... jacket." 

She smiled, as if she knew how ridiculous it sounded. "It's always lovely to find a jacket that matches your outfit just so. But you still have a perfectly functional outfit by yourself, and you can have a fine outfit with a jacket that doesn't necessarily match. And sometimes you may find a jacket that fits better than the one that was intended for you." 

Barnaby had never considered that before. In general, everyone treated soulmates like a foregone conclusion, that it _was_ who you would end up with. But in practice, it was so much more complicated than that. 

Sister Margaret's eyes sparkled, like she was in on some hidden joke. "Soulmarks are just the universe's way of telling you 'this is your matching jacket.' What you do with that is up to you." She nodded out the window, where Kotetsu was zealously defending the top of the swing set beside two of the kids. "Besides, who's to say he wouldn't have been your soulmate if you'd met him first? I think you two match pretty well."

"We do," Barnaby agreed quietly. "Thank you, Sister Margaret." 

Her brow furrowed. "For what?" 

_For giving me the words_. "For talking with me," he said. 

It didn't really matter if Kotetsu had another soulmark, or if it matched Barnaby's. It didn't matter what other people thought of their relationship. What mattered—what _really_ mattered—was that Barnaby was in love with him, had _been_ in love with him, and wanted to be with him. He wanted to keep Kotetsu as his partner in every sense of the word. That was the whole of it, when he got past everything else. 

Now, all he needed to do was come clean about it.

***

Barnaby drove them back to Kotetsu's apartment and, when Kotetsu invited him in for food, readily accepted, partly because there wasn't anything else he needed to do and partly because this would probably be the best time to confess. All he had to do was admit that he didn't want their relationship to be fake anymore. It was that simple and that difficult. 

Kotetsu bustled around one half of the kitchen grabbing ingredients, and Barnaby moved through the other half, getting out the rest of what he needed. It was always like this; working together for so long meant they could read each other in a way few others could. 

"Thank you again for coming with me," Barnaby said. "I know the kids really enjoyed it." 

"Heh, they're a lot of fun, too." Kotetsu pulled out a knife and started chopping vegetables. "You're really good with them." 

The unexpected praise made something warm and fond curl in Barnaby's stomach. "It doesn't really feel like it, sometimes." 

"It never does," Kotetsu said knowingly, and Barnaby wondered how much he was thinking about Kaede. "But you figure it out." He flashed a smile at Barnaby. "You'd make a good dad." 

"I wouldn't know the first thing about it," Barnaby admitted. "And it seems like more than I could handle on my own right now." 

"Hey, maybe your soulmate—or whoever you end up with—will want kids." 

"Would this be the soulmate I haven't seen in four years?" Barnaby asked dryly, irritation pricking at him once again. "Or is it the imaginary other soulmate you seem to think I have?" 

"Hey, it might _not_ be imaginary!" Kotetsu argued. "I told you—" 

"It's not impossible to have another soulmate. Yes. I remember that. I also researched it when I went home last night." Barnaby turned back to the vegetables he was chopping, keeping his focus on those so he wouldn't lose his temper. "I found three instances of it happening, _ever_. In each instance, the person's previous soulmate had passed away. So even if it's technically possible, it's not going to happen for me unless my mark scars over." 

"Oh," Kotetsu said quietly, and didn't have a follow-up comment for once.

At least _that_ had stopped that ridiculous line of questioning. Barnaby still wanted to beat his head on the counter. 

He set his knife down and rested his hands on either side of the cutting board. It was now or never. "Kotetsu, do you know _why_ I never looked for my soulmate?" 

Kotetsu tossed a handful of vegetables into a bowl and paused in his chopping. "Ah, because you had a lot going on when your mark showed up?" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, heh. You were still trying to find out what happened to your parents. Figures looking for your soulmate wouldn't be too high on your list." 

"I had a list, though," Barnaby said. 

That got Kotetsu to look over at him, surprised. "What?" 

"Of people I met when my soulmark showed up." Barnaby took a deep breath. "I had no intention of looking until I found the man who murdered my parents, but I made the list anyway of who it might be. I thought I would go through it later, once everything had settled. Instead—"

"You have a _list_?" Kotetsu repeated. 

"Had," Barnaby corrected. "After Jake, I threw it away." 

Kotetsu stared at him like he'd lost his mind. "Bunny, _why?_ "

"Because I knew it wouldn't be you." 

Kotetsu gaped at him, mouth moving, but no words coming out. 

It might have been amusing, if Barnaby hadn't just admitted something that could ruin everything about their friendship. But there was no going back on it now. "I saw the mark on your side after you were injured by Lunatic. At first I thought I could cross a name off the list and have one less person to investigate whenever I was ready, but then... after everything with Jake..." He sighed. "When I _was_ ready, by the time I felt like I could deal with having a soulmate, I wanted it to be you. And I knew it wouldn't be. So I threw the list away and never bothered to look." 

And that was the simple truth of it, the entire reason Barnaby had spent nearly four years ignoring his soulmark. He'd wanted it to be Kotetsu, and he knew that it wasn't. 

Kotetsu continued to gape at him, continued _not saying anything,_ and Barnaby couldn't handle this right now. He was going to go home and drink his weight in wine and pretend he wouldn't have to deal with any of the fallout from this in the morning. 

He pushed off the counter and headed for the door. 

Kotetsu grabbed his hand. 

"Bunny, I—" He cut himself off with an exasperated exhale, and then his voice got softer and more serious. "I'm sorry."

Barnaby half-turned back to him. "For wha—"

Kotetsu kissed him. 

Barnaby froze. He'd never considered this as a possible outcome of telling Kotetsu how he felt, which in retrospect seemed like a serious failure to plan on his part. He had also never put much thought into what it would be like to kiss Kotetsu. Something he was regretting now, because he had no idea how to say _I don't want you to stop._

But Kotetsu _did_ , pulling back with a slight frown on his face. Barnaby fisted his hands in his shirt to keep him from going too far. 

Kotetsu looked down at his hands, and then back at Barnaby, and the frown smoothed a little bit. "Bunny—" 

"I haven't..." Barnaby cleared his throat. "That was..." 

Realization dawned on his face. "Wait, Bunny, that was your first kiss?!"

Barnaby was going to evaporate on the spot from embarrassment. "I told you I've never been in a relationship before." 

"Yeah, but that's a relationship, not _kissing_." 

"Well, I haven't done _that_ , either," Barnaby snapped, a little more irritable than he intended to be. 

Kotetsu smiled and cupped Barnaby's cheek. "Good thing I have." 

_Thank God,_ Barnaby thought, and Kotetsu kissed him again.

It was more cautious this time, gentler, as though Kotetsu really _was_ taking it into consideration that Barnaby didn't know what he was doing. As though he was saying _like this_ or _try that_ with the tilt of his head or the press of his fingers. Barnaby did his best to follow the instructions, thanked every deity he could think of for the years of partnership that had made it possible for them to communicate so much without saying a word, because he wanted to _keep_ kissing Kotetsu for as long as he could. 

Barnaby slowly unclenched his fists so he could put his hands on Kotetsu's waist, sliding them around to his back so he could pull him closer. His heart was racing, faster than it even did when they were launching themselves into danger, loud enough that he was positive Kotetsu could hear it. 

Kotetsu drew back slightly, but only to rest their foreheads together. "Bunny..." 

Barnaby tightened his grip on Kotetsu's waist. "If you say that was for practice so that I know how to kiss whoever I want to date, I am going to kick you through the _wall_."

Kotetsu laughed and kissed the corner of his mouth. "Well, I mean, it _kind of_ is." 

Barnaby intended to be more specific with his scolding, but then Kotetsu kissed his jaw, and then his neck, and he figured the point had gotten across as it was. They probably needed to talk about this, but talking would mean that there wasn't kissing anymore, and Barnaby was very much enjoying kissing Kotetsu. They could talk later.

Their wristbands rang at the same time, and they both jumped. 

Why _now_ , of all times, did the criminals of Stern Bild decide they needed to commit a crime? Barnaby dropped his head onto Kotetsu's shoulder. "Are you _kidding_ me." 

Kotetsu rubbed his back apologetically and kissed the side of his head. "Come on, Bunny, we've got to get to work."

***

Barnaby had hoped it would be a relatively quick crime to deal with, but they ended up having to chase criminals trying to rob two different banks and half a dozen jewelry stores from one end of the Gold Stage to the other. By the time they finally arrested the last of them (an award that went to Dragon Kid), it was well after dark and Barnaby was starving and exhausted, which was the only thing tempering his irritation that his Sunday evening had been so rudely interrupted. __  
  
He was in the locker room, changing out of his body suit, when Kotetsu said from behind him, "Hey, Bunny." 

Barnaby didn't turn around; he was still getting his clothes together. "What?" 

"This is, uh, something you need to see." 

He grabbed his glasses off the shelf and turned around. "Kotetsu, _what_ are—" 

Kotetsu had a soulmark on his chest. 

Any other words died on his lips, and Barnaby could only stare at it and wonder how in the _hell_ , during _four years_ of seeing Kotetsu with his shirt off more times than he could count, he'd never seen the mark. 

And then he registered what the mark said. 

_"Huh?" Wild Tiger looked up through his hands, like he still wasn't sure how he hadn't splattered all over the ice. "Who are you?"_

_His actual debut as a hero, and Barnaby's first on-screen act wasn't to stop a criminal or save a citizen, but to keep a man who should've retired from Hero TV at least three seasons ago from impaling himself on one of Blue Rose's icicles. Really, this was ridiculous._

_"Don't try to push yourself," Barnaby snapped, and tossed Tiger to the ground. He had an entrance to make._  
  
Those same five words stared back at him from Kotetsu's chest, stark black against his skin, written right above his heart. 

_Don't try to push yourself._

A thousand questions battered at his mind, but what came out was, "You never said anything." 

Kotetsu rubbed the mark. "I thought it was a mistake at first. It had to be a mistake. I'd already met my soulmate and the way you were... the way I was... there was no way it would work. And I just..." 

A flash of grief crossed his face, and Barnaby knew how that sentence would end. _I just wanted my wife back._

"But then I got to know you, we got to know each other, and I found out it wasn't a mistake. And I didn't know what to do with that. I didn't even know if I wanted another soulmate. And you never said anything, so I thought maybe you didn't want that at all." Kotetsu shrugged and gave him a half-smile. "At least you didn't hate me anymore. I figured that was good enough." 

_Good enough_. Barnaby wanted to shake him. "So you didn't say anything because I didn't say anything?" 

"I mean, not at first. For a long time, I was trying to figure out how I felt about it. And then after I knew I was okay with it and you still hadn't said anything..." Kotetsu's gaze dropped again. "I decided not to push it. You'd been through a lot, and I didn't want to add something else for you to worry about. I had no idea you didn't know at all." 

"When did you—" Barnaby stopped himself, reconsidered Kotetsu's reaction when Agnes had brought up his soulmark. "When I told Agnes I didn't know."

"Heh. Yeah." Kotetsu rubbed the back of his neck. "And then I didn't have a lot of time to figure out what to do about it before things went sideways. Besides, you didn't sound like you _wanted_ to know."

"I didn't, because I didn't think it would be _you_." Barnaby closed the distance between them and raised his hand, then hesitated. "Can I...?" 

Kotetsu cursed under his breath. "God, Bunny, _yes_." 

Barnaby touched the mark, tracing over the letters with his fingers. He worried that so much as brushing them would wipe them away, would prove this all to be a dream, but the mark stayed black. 

Kotetsu _was_ his soulmate, and the proof was right here under his hand. 

Kotetsu was steadily turning a duller red by the second. "You know, I figured you'd be pretty mad at me for not saying anything." 

"I'm furious," Barnaby murmured, not taking his eyes off the mark. 

"...eh, you are?" 

"Yes," Barnaby said. "You're buying me dinner to make up for it. For the rest of the week." 

Kotetsu covered Barnaby's hand with his and smiled. "I think I can handle that."

***

Barnaby brought two dozen red roses and three sunflowers to work the next morning and set them all on Kotetsu's desk. Ben and Florence both raised their eyebrows at him, but Barnaby pretended he didn't see and sat down to work. 

Kotetsu ran in five minutes late, holding two coffees. "Sorry I'm late, I—" He spotted the desk and stopped in his tracks. "What?" He turned to Barnaby. "Bunny?" 

"Happy twelve-hour anniversary," Barnaby said. "I'm afraid the champagne and chocolates will have to wait until after work." 

The gobsmacked look on Kotetsu's face slowly morphed into a soft, wondering smile. "Twelve hours, huh?" 

Barnaby shrugged. "It sounds better than eleven hours and forty-seven minutes." 

Kotetsu's smile went from _soft_ to _deliriously happy_. "Aw, Bunny, you're counting?" 

Barnaby's cheeks heated. He hadn't _entirely_ thought through doing this at work. "You said it was romantic."

Kotetsu set the coffees on the desk and kissed Barnaby's temple. "You're getting good at being romantic." 

Florence groaned. "Lord help us, they're really dating now." 

Kotetsu jerked up. "What? We didn't say that!" 

Florence gave them both a very unimpressed look. 

Barnaby facepalmed. "We'll keep it professional in the office," he assured her. 

She jabbed a pen at Kotetsu's desk. "That flower shop begs to differ." 

"Hey, it's a special occasion!" Kotetsu protested. "Twelve-hour anniversary, you heard Bunny. That's how he first asked me out, you know. With a giant bouquet of flowers and chocolates and champagne." 

Florence rolled her eyes and went back to her computer, grumbling under her breath. 

"Well, congratulations!" Ben stood up from his desk. "I'll buy you both a drink after work." 

"Where are you going?" Kotetsu asked.

"Oh, I've got some specs I need to run down to Saito real quick." Ben waved a folder. "I'll be right back." 

Barnaby had a stronger suspicion that Ben was going to tell Saito the latest office gossip, and mentally resigned himself to the fact that he and Kotetsu would be water cooler talk for the foreseeable future. At least for the people who had known their relationship was fake. 

He picked up the coffee Kotetsu had put on his desk, and turned it to see a bunny face beside a bright red heart doodled on the side. He looked to Kotetsu, who was watching him with a huge grin on his face. 

Barnaby hid his smile behind the cup. "You're hopeless." 

Kotetsu sipped his own coffee. "Yeah, I know." 

Barnaby's phone rang, and he was not terribly surprised to see Agnes's name on the caller ID. "Hello?" 

"The pictures from your date are _fantastic_ ," she gushed without any preamble. "I can already tell you we're going to sell out an entire print run. People will lose their minds." 

Barnaby opened his email to start dealing with anything that had piled up over the weekend. "I'm glad you got some good pictures."

"You two should go out again next weekend," Agnes said. 

"Maybe." 

"Maybe?!" Agnes sputtered. "What do you mean, maybe?"

"I mean it's not fake anymore," Barnaby said quietly. 

Honestly, he wasn't sure it ever _had_ been. 

"It's not fake," Agnes repeated. 

"No." 

" _When_ did that happen?" 

Truthfully, it had probably happened years ago; it had just taken them this long to realize it. "Last night." 

"Oh my God. I need to set up an interview." 

"Why?" Barnaby asked. "We already did one. Everybody already thinks we're dating. They just happen to be correct now." 

Agnes groaned, and Barnaby swore he could hear her thinking of ways to spin this news into ratings. "What about your mark?" 

"What about it?" 

"Are you ever going to look for your soulmate? You sure you don't want to let us try to find them?" 

"You don't need to," Barnaby said. "I've already found him." 

" _What?!_ " Agnes exclaimed. 

"I'm afraid I need to get back to work. Have a good day, Agnes." 

"Barnaby, _wait_ , what—" 

Barnaby hung up the phone.

Kotetsu was twirling a pen between his fingers. "You know she's going to badger you until you tell her what you meant by that." 

Barnaby pulled a stack of paperwork out of his inbox. "I meant exactly what I said." 

"She doesn't know that." 

"It doesn't matter." Barnaby looked over his paperwork. "I didn't choose you because of a mark. I chose you because you're _you_. The mark is a bonus. A way of the universe telling me that you're my matching jacket." 

Kotetsu almost fell out of his chair. "I'm your _what?_ " 

Barnaby smiled to himself. "Sorry. Long story." 

"Heh." Kotetsu scratched the back of his neck. "I'd rather just be your partner." 

"You're definitely that," Barnaby said. "Always that." 

Kotetsu reached over the desk and squeezed his hand, running his thumb along Barnaby's briefly before going back to his work, pausing occasionally to glance up at the flowers.

Barnaby bent back over his own paperwork, a smile on his face. They may have been soulmates, but they were partners, first and foremost. 

In work, in life, and in everything in between. 

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> Shout out to everybody who heard the premise for this fic ("So they're soulmates, Kotetsu knows they're soulmates but Barnaby doesn't and they've never talked about it and it's been _four years_ ") and went "yeah, that sounds accurate for them."
> 
> Come see me on:  
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